How much RAM?

[rtyp3]

I use my computer for mainly gaming and internet sort of things. I have 128 Mb of RAM right now and was considering going to 256. Would I notice much of a difference for games and such? Would it be worth the money or is 128 enough? -Thanks

[NDD]

With today's memory prices - get another 128 MB without second thoughts, and Yes, you'll notice the difference, especially in loading times and less disk swapping ...
I also suppose you have at least PII class machine - upgrading RAM on less powerful won't give you much ...

Best Regards ...

[daveleau]

If you are using a system based on 66MHz or 100MHz fsb, go ahead and get PC133 since it is backward compatible.
Dave

BTW, I totally agree with ND... http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[dexmax]

get it.

you'll feel the difference, not just see it...

[Wilan Wong]

Get it now, since the RAM prices are so cheap. Upgrading to 256, you should notice a difference especially loading times in games, if your a gamer. Switching between programs is more smoother and you can run more programs without it slowing down.

[gauge]

I agree with everyone else. You can pick up a stick of memory starting around $90. I recently upgraded mine to 256 and most of the games load faster.

[fyxxer32]

Let me make sure I understand Daves post above
"If you are using a system based on 66MHz or 100MHz fsb, go ahead and get PC133 since it is backward compatible.
Dave"
So if I have a board that uses 66 mhz RAM and has 2 slots for 168 pin dimms I can use PC133? I've got this old P200 I was thinking of putting some ram into to play around with
but really didnt want to put the money into buying older ram. I could use the PC133 when I needed it in a different computer , right?

[Nathan]

Well Dave. I learned something there. I wasn't aware that 133 is backwards compatible.

[ragtop]

The PC133 is in general backwards compatible, but:

1. It will only run at the bus speed of your system (you won't get PC133 performance on a 66 mhz system).

2. Certain older motherboards and chipsets will only support certain sizes and chip densities on the RAM sticks.

As far as the difference you will see when upgrading, I just upgraded one machine from 64M to 256M. I didn't notice much difference until I loaded Unreal Tournament. I can now play on high detail settings at frame rates I could previously only get with low detail settings. And yes, the levels load much faster also.